Is A Hope
by The Captain and The Hourglass
Summary: Hermione Granger, will not be joining her two best friends on their hunt for Horcruxes. Dumbledore left her with her own mission to complete, but her instructions are as vague as Harry's. Time travel, unlikely pairings, and angst ensue. Rated M for later.
1. Chapter One: The Will

**Disclaimer: The following recognizable characters/plot/dialogue/etc. in this chapter and those to follow are not mine, nor will they ever be mine. This disclaimer is mine, though.**

**Story: Is A Hope**

**Summary: Hermione Granger, having just completed her sixth year, will not be joining her two best friends on their hunt for horcruxes. Dumbledore left her with her own mission to complete, though her instructions are as vague as the ones he gave to Harry. Time travel, unlikely pairings, and angst ensue.**

**Plans for the Story: I am planning on keeping it as compliant to every book except Deathly Hallows, though hopefully it will stay (mostly) compliant up until Deathly Hallows, keeping all characters in character at all times (though there may be a few slips in order to have a plot...), attempting to make the ship a little more viable, and trying to break the mold of the typical Hermione/Tom time-turner scenario (it's that I don't love them, they're just very common).**

**Main Pairing: Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle Jr.**

**Updating Plans: Once or twice a week during the summer.**

**Other: Please forgive me. I am new to fanfiction. Guide me and teach me all you know. The first couple of chapters will be a little boring since people normally don't travel back to 1944, and the plot is begging me to set it up properly.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Will<strong>

Hermione Granger woke from a restless sleep exhausted. It was the day before Bill and Fleur's wedding, and Hermione was beginning to feel as though the weight of the world was upon her shoulders. Between assisting Mrs. Weasley with beautifying the Burrow, trying to keep a steady relationship going with Ron, preparing Harry and Ron in every way she could think of for their quest, and neglecting preparations for her own, she was under more stress than she had ever been before. It wasn't that she particularly minded the work, it was the consequences if she didn't complete it in time that made her want to scream.

During his sixth year, Harry wasn't the only student at Hogwarts receiving guidance from Dumbledore. Hermione had been receiving private lessons from the old wizard, but was instructed to keep it a secret. She had enjoyed it thoroughly. She'd never quite understood why Albus Dumbledore was teaching her the subjects he was.

He had instructed her on a variety of topics. Mostly on time travel, though not the classic time-turner variety. He introduced her to a whole new branch based on Ancient Runes, delving into the theory behind it. It was said there was a way to travel through time by performing a complicated ritual. Not much was known about it, and even Dumbledore didn't know too much, but he insisted that Hermione learn about it as much as she could. Over the time they tried to gather facts about it, she also studied Occlumency. It was a lot harder than she thought it would be, and she felt guilty about chiding Harry about not learning it in their fifth year. Dumbledore was kind and blamed it on her strong personality, but Hermione knew he meant her short temper.

She rolled over onto her side and squinted in the daylight. Ginny was still sleeping soundly, but she could already hear Mrs. Weasley preparing breakfast in the kitchen. She got dressed and decided that she would try to prepare some more for she and the boys journeys. It was bizarre to think that for the first time in years, they wouldn't be an inseparable trio. Packing, making lists of information, and trying to crack codes were the least she could do. Even if she couldn't be there physically, hopefully by supplying all the information she could pour out of her brain, it would be like she was there. Besides, she wasn't worried about them being able to solve the mysteries Dumbledore had left to Harry. It was her journey she was worried about. She hardly even had a place to start, let alone a place to end.

The last meeting Hermione and the wizard had was short, but to the point. He basically told her that while he was positive that she would want to help her friends on their mission, she must not neglect hers. She was confused as to why Dumbledore spoke like he wasn't going to be able to help them, but now he was gone. _"Perhaps he had known more than he told me," _she mused. It wouldn't be the first time. He also told her about a secret recipe he had for pumpkin soup. She thought that he must have been finally growing too old to realize how foolish he sounded. As far as she knew, pumpkin soup and time travel had nothing to do with each other.

She took the two bags she had started to prepare out from under her bed- a small beaded bag for her and a tan rucksack for Harry and Ron. Inside each bag were bottles of potions, books, and essentials such as food and water that she had stolen from the Weasley's kitchen. In the boy's, she had put pages and pages of notes, sorted by topic, that she hoped would assist them when she wasn't there. She also had put Harry's invisibility cloak and the fake locket. She began to review the notes. There was certainly not enough information on Horcruxes, but there wasn't much that she could do about that. She had added a list of possible ways to destroy them, even if they seemed impractical.

Ginny stirred in her bed. Hermione quickly shoved the papers back into the bag and hid them in their place under her bed. Then she stood up and grabbed the book she was currently reading- _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes. _Ginny opened one eye at the rustling and groaned when she saw that all Hermoine was doing was reading.

"Good morning, Ginny," Hermione said, trying her best to not sound anxious.

"Hermi-," the rest was followed by mumbles as Ginny rubbed her face free of sleep. She was definitely not a morning person.

"I think your mum is cooking breakfast. Smells like bacon and eggs," Hermione really had no idea what Molly was cooking, but it was a struggle for Hermione to talk to Ginny anymore. Ginny, like Molly, had been trying to figure out what the three of them were up to.

"Yum," Ginny said with no enthusiasm. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Mum wants you two downstairs now. She wants help with preparing Harry's birthday breakfast," George (or was it Fred?) called through the door. Hermione sprung to her feet and walked to the kitchen. Ginny wasn't going to be going anywhere fast.

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><p>The rest of the day passed with little excitement. It was finally time to eat the cake Molly had made for after Harry's birthday dinner, but it was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Kingsley had warned it might happen, and the Golden Trio had tried to prepare Harry for what he would say when he tried to prove that he had something to do with Dumbledore's murder. What they hadn't expected was the minister requiring all three of them to meet with him.<p>

Hermione walked cautiously into the Burrow. What could he possibly want with all three of them? What if he was Imperiused and was going to try to kill all three of them? Hermione looked for signs that this could be the case, but she didn't see any.

"I've come about Albus Dumbledore's will," Scrimegour said, and she and Ron looked at each other quickly, then realized they shouldn't give too much away. The minister paused, waiting for one of them to speak before continuing. "He's left some things to each of you," he looked at each of them, gauging their reactions. "To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill. " He handed the Snitch to Harry, obviously expecting something to happen. Nothing did.

"To Ronald Billius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it." Ron took the device with a smirk and clicked it, amazed by what it did. He proceeded to do this until Hermione cleared her throat, at which time he blushed and looked down.

"To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my entire private library, in hopes that she enjoys the books as much as I did," Hermione let out a squeak. Scrimegour smirked. "You like books then? I'm sure Dumbledore's hold more secrets than you could imagine, right?"

"Well-," Hermione began.

"She's the brightest witch of our age! Of course he left her his books!" Ron looked at the minister with a look of utter disgust on his face.

"Thank you, Ronald," Hermione said, looking for the books. "So where are they, then?" She tried not to lose her nerve. She hadn't felt this nervous since she gave the speech at the first meeting of the DA.

He pulled out a small velvet pouch and handed it out to Hermione. "We've taken the liberty of shrinking them down for easy transport," he looked at her curiously, as though expecting another outburst. When one didn't come, Scrimegour continued, "He also left the sword of Godric Gryffindor to Mr. Potter, however, it was not his to give away, and has been returned to Hogwarts." After many failed attempts at arguing against the decision, the trio gave up. Scrimegour left, and they returned to dinner once more.

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><p>That night, Hermione snuck up to the boy's room. She decided it was finally time to tell them about her mission. She had been dreading it ever since she realized that she wouldn't be going with them after all, but she couldn't put it off any longer. Now the boys were looking at her expectantly, and curiously at the tan rucksack she had brought along.<p>

"I have something I need to tell you, and I ask you not to interrupt me until I am finished speaking," she said, glaring at Harry as his mouth opened like he was a fish. "Now, as you know, I have been preparing for what we are to do this year. What you don't know," here she paused to regather her courage, "Is that I am not coming with you. Professor Dumbledore left me with my own mission. I know that you're probably upset with me-" Ron was turning purple, "-but I felt that this was the best way to tell you. I have prepared a bag with hopefully everything you need, and I'm really sorry I can't help you more." She started to cry. This wasn't how she wanted to end it.

"Hermione, what exactly is your_ mission?_"Harry added air-quotes around the word mission. She looked up at him, only to start crying harder.

"I can't tell you. Dumbledore made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone... not even you two."

"Well, given the circumstances-" Harry began.

"No."

"Hermione, I've known you since you were eleven. We've been through so much. I thought I would... I thought we were... AND NOW YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS TO ME?" Ron had spoken up at last. "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DATING, AND NOW YOU JUST DECIDE THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR OWN FUN? No, don't ask us for advice or anything. What could the Boy Who Lived possibly know about defeating You-Know-Who? And his sidekick? No, he's worthless. The idiot wouldn't even know how to hold a book," He paused for breath before continuing. "How could you? JUST GET OUT OF MY HOUSE."

They all paused, hearing footsteps coming to the door.

"I- Ron-," Hermione sputtered.

"I thought you cared about me more than this, but I guess it was a good thing I've been cheating with Lavender behind your back," Ron spoke with a grimace.

Hermione crossed the room and smacked him. "Harry, take the bag, no matter what. It has everything in it. I know you'll destroy the Horcruxes," she spoke with tears in her eyes and she crossed the room and hugged him. He seemed awfully confused. She whipped around to Ron, "Ron, you're a bastard. I'm sorry Harry doesn't have better help than you," She spun on her heel and apparated down to Ginny's room, not the least bit surprised to find it empty. Everyone was probably interrogating the two boys as she gathered her things, carefully placing the pouch of Dumbledore's books into her beaded bag.

She hurried to the front door, determined to get out before anyone could stop her. The witch ran the yards to escape the confines of the Burrow's security measures. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and apparated to the first place she thought of.


	2. Chapter Two: Home

**Disclaimer: See Previous.**

**Author's Notes & Responses to pm-less reviews at end.**

**Thanks to: , MisheardLyrics, know-it-all, Fridizh, LauRawrCait, and Snape is a god.**

**For/Thanks McGonagall ;)**

**Chapter Two: Home**

Hermione walked down the block to the home she once shared with her parents. She mentally braced herself for what she might see. It had only been a few weeks since she had sent her parents to Australia, and had never been able to tell if they were safe, or if she had made the right choice. It had been a decision that she sat upon for a while. There was always something in the back of her mind telling her that the day might come. She just never knew how hard it would be.

The first thing she noticed was the blue and white police tape stretched across the perimeter of the home. The door was blown out, as well as all of the windows on both floors. She inched closer, mouth agape, noticing the rosebush she and her mum had planted years before was in splinters. The tears finally started coming, though underneath great sadness was a small amount of triumph. She had done the right thing after all. Before she entered the wrecked house, she muttered a few spells that would conceal her presence and reveal any other people in the home. Once Hermione decided that it was safe, she strode in.

The inside was no better. Stuffing was falling out of the arm chairs, the fireplace mantle was smashed to bits, and anywhere something could be destroyed, it was. This confused her. If it was as simple as her parents not being there, then why had they wrecked the house- her _home?_ She walked upstairs, finding the same mess. Her bedroom door was blown off the hinges. The wall above her bed was scorched with the dark mark. _They knew._

She entered her parents' bedroom next. There was hardly anything left, except for a small jewelry box. She guessed her mother hadn't taken it with her because Hermione had given it to her, and her own mum didn't even know she existed. In it were a pair of silver cuff links all the way in the back, her father's, and a pair of teardrop emerald earrings- ones that her great-grandmother had given to her mum. Why didn't her mother take them with her? Her stomach lurched. What if they weren't safe? Hermione took out her cheap studs that she had bought as an eight year old, and tossed them into the box. She then put the emeralds in, vowing never to take them off until she knew her parents to be safe.

The witch set up camp in the attic, surprisingly the most preserved part of the entire house. It was odd. The house was hardly her home anymore ever since she had started going to Hogwarts. The thought made her ready to break down, but, attempting to avoid that undesirable scenario, she began to take all of the destroyed Christmas decorations, out-of-date clothing, and extra bedding down to the second floor. After she had enough room, she emptied the entirety of her beaded bag, categorizing its contents. Organizing always calmed her down.

Then, she spotted the small bag Scrimegour had given her. Hermione had never even had the chance to even look at them, and decided that now was as good of a time as any. She dumped them all out, and immediately grew angry at the minister. They were hardly bigger than grains of rice, and there were hundreds! To un-shrink them all would take hours. Hermione groaned, then shrugged. _I'm going to have to do it eventually._

And so the tedium began. In total, the girl had restored 447 books to their original sizes. Her wrist was throbbing with pain, but she knew that it would be worth it in the end. She looked at her watch- 5 am. It was certainly an eventful day, and one she would like to end. She wished she could sleep in her bed, but the dark mark above it spoiled that for her, so she summoned a blanket from her bag with a quick _Accio_ and curled up on the floor.

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><p>Hermione awoke with a start. Memories of the last night came rushing back into her memory, and she tried to quickly place them to the back of her mind. The books were stacked into haphazard piles against the attic walls. <em>Where to start...<em>

She sorted the books by category, with a whole category for uncategorizable books. While she was doing this she examined the books for any hint as to which ones he wanted her to review first. The first thing she noticed was that some of the book covers were missing letters. She set these to the side and then looked at the ones that were left, about 400. Many of them were basic spell books, trick books, and even some Gilderoy Lockhart books. Hermione felt a flutter in her chest- they were worthless. She turned back to the other pile of books with the missing letters. They were on Ancient Runes, Potions, Transfiguration, Magical Creatures, and strangely enough- a children's book.

She set out to discover which letters were missing from the covers. As absurd as it sounded, she wondered if Dumbledore had left her a secret message. In the end, she was left with the letters PTWRFSJKGLEEPYTGOFHTBMALZGS. Hermione sighed. There was no way there was any sort of a message hidden in them. Then why did these books seem to relate so much to what Dumbledore had taught her?

She buckled down to read, knowing that it would take even _her_ days to read them all.

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><p>Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George were all hiding in the toolshed where Arthur kept the old Ford Anglia. The wedding was going as most weddings do, which meant they were not having fun whatsoever.<p>

"So, Ron, how's Lavender then?" Harry asked. He had found it very awkward at first, but Hermione was gone, and as much as he hated to think that Ron would be capable of such a thing, he was the one still with him.

"Well, about that..." Ron said. Even in the dark, the others could hear a blush creeping up his face.

"Don't tell us she's pregnant!" Fred exclaimed, ignoring Ginny's impatient huff.

"Oh, that would be fabulous... I could hear it now. When it cries it would sound like Won-Won!" George followed up

"You'd be stuck with her for life!"

"We'd be stuck with her for life! That'd be even worse!"

"I wasn't cheating on Hermione!" Ron shouted, silencing the twins.

"Well, good. Yeah, well done, Ron," Harry anxiously untied and retied his shoes. Ron and feelings should just not go together.

"I just said it to make her feel bad," Ron subconsciously polished his wand with his sleeve. "Well you heard her, Harry! She was just going to leave us, _alone_, out to do, er, what we have to do."

"That doesn't mean you should make her feel like shit when she's probably having trouble herself," Ginny sighed. "I mean, you said that she had her own mission. She probably felt guilty enough without you trying to make it worse. It's not like she wanted to leave you, but she obviously should have," she glared at her brother.

"Well, Fred, I do believe this is where we leave," George stood up.

"Couldn't agree more, Georgie," Fred and George left the shed, presumably to find some of Fleur's French friends, leaving the door askew.

"Ron, I'm sorry, I know you're my friend, but you really know how to muck things up sometimes," Harry shook his head, wondering what to do. He felt as though he should try to find Hermione, but it was probably impossible now.

Suddenly, a silvery stream passed in front of the door.

"Was that-" Ginny began.

"A patronus," Harry answered.

They chased after it. It was Kingsley's. All three knew it wasn't very good news. They knew it was time to go. Ron ran into the burrow.

"Harry!" Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry to the point he could hardly breathe.

"Ginny, I've got to go, and so do you. I'm sorry we couldn't have had a better goodbye, but if I don't..." Ginny's eyes filled with tears. "If I don't, er, come back, just, uh, live your life and-"

Ginny leaned up and kissed him. It lasted for only a few seconds, but already all hell was breaking loose. The tent was breaking, people were apparating, and then, he saw it, the glint of a silver mask- the Death Eaters had arrived. He and Ginny ran into the house. He quickly sprinted up to Ron's bedroom, grabbing the Rucksack from underneath his bed. Hermione had seemed so insistent on Harry taking it.

"Ron, it's now," Harry looked at the first friend he ever had, feeling as though he would be sick. This could be the last time they were ever back at the Burrow. And with that thought still in Harry's head, he apparated the pair of them to Grimmauld Place.

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><p>Upon their first meeting, Dumbledore had given Hermione three things: a lemon drop, a time-turner, and a small bundle of notes. He made her eat the lemon drop when she first sat down, and then dove into the first lesson.<p>

"Well, Miss Granger, to be honest, I'm quite excited for tonight's meeting. It's not often that I get to sit down and have a chat with one of the most brilliant witches alive," Dumbledore had begun, making her flush.

"Tha- thank you, sir. I'm quite honoured." The room felt as though an unspoken tension existed. Hermione wondered if it was all in her head.

"Oh, Dumbledore, quit it with the pleasantries," Phineas Nigellus's portrait whined.

Dumbledore thought this over. "Perhaps I should... As I'm sure you're well aware, a dangerous time is upon us. Lord Voldemort has returned without a shadow of a doubt, and, if it is as I suspect, split his soul," Hermione gasped. "Not to worry, dear. That's for Harry and I to discuss. It is not for you to consider yet. Now you're probably wondering why we're going to be having meetings. I'm very interested in time travel, and as you have first hand experience with it, I thought you would be a wise choice."

"That was only to go to extra classes... How am I to destroy Voldemort by traveling through time? It's a law that cannot be broken, in whatever case, no matter what. That's what McGonagall told me in my third year," Hermione rambled on while Dumbledore simply sat and waited, the twinkle never leaving his eyes.

"That's precisely it, Hermione. You're not going to travel to _destroy_ him, but rather to _save, _and you do have experience with _that_ if I'm not mistaken."

_"Save_ He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!_" _Hermione couldn't help herself. This was getting too absurd.

"Yes. Now, the purpose of these lessons will be to attempt to crack an ancient code for time travel, since a simple time-turner could never do the trick to travel as far back as I'd like you to go."

_"ME! _Alone?_"_ she stared at him. This was _not _what she had expected. This wasn't how the meetings were going for Harry. They were simple. Time travel was never simple.

"Please, Miss Granger, allow me to explain," his tone was pleasant, but forceful. Hermione shrunk into her seat. He removed a packet of papers from one of his desk drawers, and handed them to her. "These are papers that I have been collecting for some time. They're all about time travel, though not in the typical sense. This is ancient magic which will, in theory, will be able to transport you to the desired point of the timeline, that being 1944."

"That would make Voldemort... what? Seventeen?" Hermione quickly did the math in her head.

"Exactly. Though it isn't entirely ideal, given the fact that by that time he had already opened the Chamber of Secrets and, if I'm correct, split his soul once already. Do not let this discourage you though. We'll talk more about that later. What's more important is getting the time traveling portion complete. Things will be too up in the air for us to come up with a formidable plan."

They discussed how it would be accomplished. According to Dumbledore, there was a place where the spell to make it happen was hidden, but neither she nor he could ever figure out where that place was. A potion was also needed, but Dumbledore had told Hermione that when the time presented itself, no matter what happened, she was to got to Professor Snape and ask him to help her brew it. It was called the Chrono potion, and would allow the drinker to go back in time, provided they were able to proceed with the rest of the ceremony. It didn't seem too difficult, except for getting the spell.

At the end of the night, he also presented her with a time-turner. He told her that it was a little-known fact, but if a time-turner is broken, it would allow the breaker to go back to their own time.

"The DA broke all of the time-turners at the Ministry last year, but nothing happened," Hermione thought aloud.

"Precisely. Time-turners are powerful magic. If something that powerful was broken under normal circumstances, it would probably put up a fight, no? I have tried it myself, and I know for a fact that it works, what is it the muggles say? 'Without a hitch,'" Dumbledore helped her to work out her thoughts. "If there are no more questions for tonight, then I would like to see you up here in four week's time to go over the potion portion of this plan. Goodnight, Miss Granger!"

"Goodnight, Professor, and thank you for choosing me," Hermione spoke, but didn't really mean it.

"She's obviously lying," she heard Phineas say right before exiting the class room.

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><p>Hermione had finally finished reading all of the books, days later, and the only thing she was able to conclude was that the spell was broken up into three pieces scattered around the world- Bulgaria, England (she presumed in the Department of Mysteries), and one yet-to-be-discovered place. She had made herself a simple breakfast of toast and coffee, and was just settling down to start to read "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" when she heard a car door slam outside the house. The police were back to investigate. She threw all her books into the beaded bag, disappeared her toast, grabbed her coffee, donned her cloak, and apparated to Diagon Alley. There was a more important mission on her mind for a moment. One that involved her old friends.<p>

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><p><strong>Wooo a second chapter! I won't be updating until at least Saturday, as I'm going on vacation. Onto answering reviews:<strong>

**know-it-all: Ah, Ron... probably my least favourite character in the book, therefore I tend to make him a bit of a wanker. I'm biased, and I think I tend to write him the way he seems to me more-so than the way he actually is. Thanks!**

**Snape is a god: GTFO. NO ONE LIKES SNAPE. jk luv you, Sybill. P.S. Credit to her for some major plot points coming up.**

**Okay, uh, see you on Saturday or Sunday!**


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